StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

Phaethon, Cactus Valley.

In front of Augustus was a vast desert with flying red sand. Many large sandstones and tree-shaped thorny plants were twisted in the rolling heat waves. When he looked up into the distance, the canyon in the distance was sparkling in the golden sunlight.

"Arctorus, I have to say that this place is worse than Char." Augustus was observing the canyon opposite with a telescope equipped with a triangular distance measuring device, while speaking to the Prince of the Tyranids beside him. .

Most of the planet's latitudes are unbearably hot, and the rest of the planet is too hot to survive. In this canyon, the hot solar energy is drying everyone out, and the commander-type power armor life support system Augustus is wearing is sending the slightest coolness to all parts of his body. The armored cold fusion reactor is capable of providing powerful power, so there's no need to worry about energy issues at all.

"It's just the difference between hell and another hell." Prince Arcturus Mengsk wore armor similar to Augustus's, and the golden wolf emblem on his armor was a symbol of imperial power. As he spoke, the twin-tower turbine reactors behind the armor were still spinning.

Prince Shirahoshi was a full ten years older than his brother the Emperor, and was now in his forties, with a thick, carefully groomed brown-gray mustache and beard. The eighteen-year-old Arcturus seems to be just a phantom of the past. He has now become the image of his father Angus.

Compared to Angus, Arcturus's first half of life was exciting enough. He once led the federal army in the Guild War, and also led his own exploration team to the farthest place that humans can reach in this vast sea of ​​stars. , it can be said that all the wishes I made when I was young have come true.

So, what does Arcturus have in mind now? He is very ambitious and has great power. He is deeply trusted by the emperor. One person is inferior to ten thousand people. It seems that it is difficult to go further except for the position of emperor.

But in Arcturus' view, there is no difference between Augustus being emperor and himself holding this position. If the emperor was the father, it might be different.

Arcturus possesses outstanding military talents, and facts have proved that his political skills are also equal. When the Prince attended meetings of the Imperial Council as a member of the Mengsk royal family, even the most eloquent members were no match for him, and in the end power remained firmly in the hands of the Emperor.

Anyone who has met Prince Arcturus will never dare to despise him. Those who intend to provoke conflicts in the royal family even say that he should have been the emperor. However, not only these voices were heard afterwards, but also the person who said this. People disappeared.

"Why are all these ungrateful places we come to? The Umoyan people must be crazy to come here." Tychus, a tall man wearing special power armor, stood between the emperor and the prince. , drinking a bottle of cold beer openly.

"You have to ask why the zerg came to Phaethon." Augustus pointed a direction to Tychus and asked him to look over: "If we can understand what the Overlord and the Cerebrates think, this war will be It’s much simpler.”

"Fortunately, we finally arrived, otherwise there wouldn't be a single person left here."

Before the Tyranid Empire's army arrived, the swarm had devoured most of the life on Phaethon. The Empire rescued some Umoyans and returned them to the safety of Korhal.

"The Empire has done more than their own leadership council to protect the people of Umoyan from the zerg," Arcturus said.

"Originally, I thought it was not difficult to figure out the thoughts of the zerg. It wasn't until I saw the worm that Kerry Gan raised that I realized that humans can't understand beasts." Tychus smacked his lips. The emperor of the Tyranids just couldn't Likewise, pet ownership is a brain bug at the beginning.

"But there are many people in the empire who are worse than animals." Prince Arcturus pointed out.

The prince currently does not hold any position in the court of the Terran Empire, but he was also one of the fleet commanders during the war, and his status cannot be compared to that of Tychus.

Arcturus had already led his troops into battle at the beginning of the war, leaving all the work at hand to his stupid father who was a parliamentarian. If Queen Kerrigan wasn't here on Korhal, Angus might even lose the last of his hair.

Although being away from the center of power can leave Arcturus with an uneasy feeling of emptiness, fighting alongside his former subordinates is also a way to expand his power.

When he personally commanded the army, Arcturus was also a brave and skilled general. Arcturus is a ruthless character in the political arena, and the same is true on the battlefield. He is often accustomed to sacrificing a small number of troops to concentrate on attacking the enemy's backbone. Therefore, the soldiers in Prince White Star's army are all resocialized. soldier.

He would often use resocialized soldiers as cannon fodder, while the Prince's Guards, armed with sophisticated weapons and equipment, would clean up the mess.

Over time, people began to call Arcturus the Black Prince. Compared to Shirahoshi, only this word seems to be more suitable for his ruthlessness and coldness.

"Humph." Tychus thought for a moment and decided that he was not talking about him. He's a bad guy, but not a fool.

Tychus looked in the direction Augustus pointed, and saw what seemed to be a large wriggling gray cloud over the cactus canyon under the scorching sun. It was a carpet of germs that was constantly spreading, and countless zerg buildings rising from the ground stretched into the sky like boiling glue.

This is the largest nest of the Gamu swarm on Phaethon. The number of zerg deep in the canyon and even in underground caves may be in the tens of millions.

He seemed to hear the strange, sticky and disgusting sound as the carpet spread.

This is the Zerg. In the history of their race, there is only endless conquest and killing, bringing only death and destruction. In a history longer than humans, the insect swarm has been destroying planets, infecting and devouring the genes of species on them.

In order to complete the twisted mission given by the Creator and to achieve perfection on the road of evolution, the insect swarm has always carried out the method of killing. What makes humans different from animals is that they can imagine and create things that don't exist in the world, but it seems that the zerg are more likely to be born for destruction.

"Be good." Tychus shook his head: "When we first came here, there weren't those disgusting things there."

"I think you already have a detailed plan to eradicate the main hive colony." Arcturus turned his head and looked at Augustus.

"Of course, but that's just an appetizer." Augustus turned away.

Behind them are fortifications and huge bunkers under construction. Planetary fortresses, engineering stations and supply depots whose main structures are equipped with heavy alloy shields and Ibix cannons spread endlessly to form a steel city. Thousands of towering anti-aircraft missiles, sensor towers and psychic jammers block the ground and sky. With multiple fusion cores providing power, this fortress can be fully powered at any time.

This is a new city that rose up in a very short period of time. The city is filled with huge cannons and rocket nests of terrifying caliber. It can be said that it is armed to the teeth. It is not an exaggeration to call it a super fortress.

In the center of the super fortress there are more newly built fighter platforms, transport aircraft platforms and a shocking super cannon - the earth-shattering cannon.

This giant artillery is as tall as a dozen stories, and the length of the barrel alone is hundreds of feet. It is an ultra-long-range artillery capable of firing several tons of shells, and the range is enough to cover the entire battlefield. The roar of the artillery fire from the Earth Shattering Cannon emplacement is like the end of the world. The infinite sea of ​​light can even level a solid fortress, and the strike point goes deep into the ground.

By equipping it with a radiation warhead, the Earth Shatter Cannon can also turn enemy positions into a death-land filled with horrific radioactive dust.

Ever since Korhal IV was bombed by the old Federation with the Apocalypse nuclear bomb, the Korhal people have become increasingly difficult to deal with nuclear weapons.

Because the Earth Shatter Cannon is extremely heavy, it can only be deployed by transport by train and heavy transport ship. Countless Imperial engineers assembled and built stable launch platforms on the battlefield.

Ordinary generals believe that only a detailed and complete military plan can achieve victory, but a true military genius can decide the outcome of the entire war with one move. All human fears of the unknown come from insufficient firepower.

"A model of imperial military industry," Augustus said to Arcturus.

"It's time to turn this place into scorched earth." Arcturus said: "We have enough firepower. As long as we can defeat the enemy, we will not hesitate to spend more shells."

Not only are there earth-shattering cannons, there are also thousands of nuclear bomb silos in this super fortress. As long as Emperor Augustus gives the order, he can launch a nuclear disaster at any time.

The battlefield between the Tyranid Empire and the Insect Swarm covers a large star field, and more than a hundred worlds are in varying degrees of fierce fighting. Due to the distance and importance of some areas, there are at most only a few marines. That is because the empire has always concentrated its limited resources on the main battlefields.

"It's time," said Augustus.

Augustus' Commander Powered Armor has the most communications ports of any armor model, condensing all command lines into one suit of armor so he can give orders directly to the main control center.

"Adjutant, report."

"The radiation strike is ready, the fusion strike is ready, the fighter launch platform is ready." The other end immediately replied.

"The fate of billions of creatures rests at your fingertips," Arcturus said.

Arcturus liked this feeling. Now that Korhal had been destroyed, he didn't mind if the rest of the world became like Korhal.

"Countdown preparation, let all soldiers be ready." Augustus ordered again.

The imperial soldiers in the fortress began to move quickly, and the artillerymen operating the earth-shattering cannon had already adjusted the position of the cannon according to the order. Everyone wears soundproofing equipment, and the roar that follows is enough to tear human eardrums.

"Launch them all!" After confirming that everything was ready, Augustus closed his mask and ordered.

At the command, the earth began to tremble, the air trembled with a shrill scream, and the cactus canyon let out a tragic wail. The entire land within sight fell into a sea of ​​flames, and rounds of artillery fire tore apart the vicissitudes of Phaethon's land.

Augustus was not in the mood to appreciate this magnificent scene of artillery fire, but turned directly towards the command center.

"The Garm Swarm is just a vanguard army of the Lord, and I am sure that the Lord of the Garm Swarm, Sars, did not even land on Phaethon." Augustus said:

"But as long as the master knows that I am here, he will definitely come. Moreover, I brought the Xel'Naga artifact, which is very attractive to the protoss and zerg."

During this period, Augustus appeared in Phaethon many times, and the eyeworms monitoring the imperial base must have already noticed this human emperor who dared to appear on the front line.

The Overmind had attempted to assassinate Augustus more than once, using various methods including controlling important officials of the empire and sending mimic hatchlings. As long as they can win, it means nothing to the swarm whether the methods and processes are despicable.

"The Overlord will definitely surround Phaethon, but given the lessons learned from the Battle of Aiur, it may not dare to come to this planet in person." Arcturus said.

"You should go to Astrid III. General Warfield has already captured that planet."

Augustus retorted: "But there are no star spirits on this planet. The previous master died at the hands of the star spirits, and the role of humans is actually insignificant."

"It doesn't know we have the Xel'Naga artifact."

In fact, Augustus did not agree with this statement. If the fallen god in the void has taken control of the current master, then it is unclear which side his only servant Narud in the real world will side with.

However, Augustus judged that Amon's actual influence on the Overlord was still limited, and that mainly depended on the degree of erosion of the void on the real world. Now that Narud has handed over the method of using the Xel'Naga artifact, he most likely wants to get rid of the current master with the help of the Empire.

The current Overlord may not even be aware of Narud's existence, and an uncontrolled swarm of insects would be a huge destabilizing factor for Amon's terrifying plans.

With this in mind, Augustus had a second plan.

"We are putting our hands into the lion's mouth," Arcturus said to Augustus.

They were walking through a huge armory, and next to it was a prototype of an Odin mecha. As incredible as it is, Terran Empire engineers are actually building Odin directly on the battlefield.

The technology of modular assembly allows the Tyranid Empire to deploy large mechas like Odin on the front lines at a faster rate.

"The fable also says that when we put our hands into the lion's mouth, we still have to hold the whip in our hands." Augustus said.

At this moment, after rounds of artillery fire, a large number of imperial bombers were taking off in the wind and flying towards the main nest of the Gamu Swarm in the distance.

"Okay, but now I have to drive the Odin into battle." Tychus walked towards his own Odin.

"I hope you know how to drive heavy armor this time." Prince Arcturus said: "Remember who is holding your collar, Mr. Finley."

"You think I'm your dog?" Tychus snorted from his tall nose.

"If you say that, pretend you are a dog," said Arcturus.